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It was their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson of the year.
Aside from quietly discussing the "wager" between Dudley and Snape, the students were also discussing what kind of person Professor Lupin was.
That was especially true today, since all the students present were in Dudley's year.
Before this, they had experienced the turbaned professor who smelled of garlic, Professor Quirrell, and the self-important peacock professor with no real ability, Lockhart.
They wondered what kind of professor they would have this year.
They only hoped he would not be too terrible. At the very least, he had to be better than Lockhart, right?
When class was about to begin, Lupin finally arrived, a little late. First, he gave the students a faint smile. Then he placed his battered suitcase on the desk.
Compared with the previous professor's flamboyant clothing, Professor Lupin's robes were much simpler. Perhaps simple was not quite the right word. Ragged might have been more accurate. His loose robes had many patches.
Perhaps this was still his best outfit.
Clearly, this professor's life had not been going especially well.
"Everyone, please put your books back in your desks and take out your wands. Today's first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson will be practical work."
Practical work?
The students' eyes lit up at once. They had never had a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts class before, unless Lockhart's Cornish pixie incident counted.
"Please follow me. I think we should change locations."
The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom had a fixed location, but nearby there were actually many empty, spacious practice rooms usually used for practical Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. However, ever since someone had placed a curse on the subject, the professors who held the position year after year had rarely used those rooms.
The last time one had been used was six or seven years ago.
When the door was pushed open, a rotten, musty smell drifted out. Lupin only raised his wand and gave it a gentle wave. A small whirlwind mixed with water appeared out of thin air and swept the dust, rubbish, and unidentifiable bugs in the room out all at once.
The practice room immediately looked brand new.
If wizards went into housekeeping, they could outcompete every cleaning company in Britain. Fast and spotless.
The spell was Scourgify, a household charm used for cleaning.
It might be a household charm, but that did not make it easy. Although most wizards, especially housewives, knew it, most could only cast it. It was difficult for them to clean a target thoroughly, so the spell was generally used only for light cleaning.
Cleaning an entire spacious classroom in one go showed just how skilled Lupin was.
"I have seen my mother use it before. She cannot even get the kitchen dishes properly clean."
"My father once tried to sweep the floor with this spell. In the end, he made the whole house a mess, and Mum and I spent three full hours cleaning it up. It was a disaster."
"..."
The students began chattering among themselves. With one small display, Lupin had used a simple spell to make the students look at him with new respect.
With that, he quietly established his authority as a professor.
Once someone proved competent, even poverty began to look like principle.
What poverty?
That was called thrift.
Had they never heard of make do and mend?
Look at Professor Lupin. He was so good at living frugally.
"He has some skill," Ron whispered into Harry's ear. "At least he is more reliable than someone like Lockhart."
In their disciplinary group, probably only Dudley and Hermione could do that.
Hm. Perhaps that fellow named Cedric could as well.
Cedric had joined the disciplinary group, but because he needed to pass his O.W.L.s this year, he rarely participated in the group's activities. Even so, his occasional appearances had already let the other members know he was an excellent wizard.
An exceptionally good one.
Harry nodded, fully agreeing.
"I bet no Defense Against the Dark Arts professor could be worse than Lockhart."
However, Harry was still too young.
And he had said that far too early.
"Now, everyone, come over here." Lupin pointed ahead. There was nothing there.
With another wave of his wand, an old wardrobe appeared.
When Lupin walked beside it, the wardrobe suddenly began shaking and making loud banging sounds.
The sudden noise startled the students standing near the front.
"No need to worry. No need to worry, children."
Lupin clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention, then calmly knocked on the door of the old wardrobe.
"There is a Boggart inside."
A Boggart was a shape-shifting non-being often treated as a Dark creature. No one knew what it looked like in its true form, because it always appeared as whatever frightened the person facing it most. It loved mischief and fed on human fear.
It was worth mentioning that Boggarts also appeared in Muggle records as mythological creatures. In Muggle accounts, however, a Boggart was an ugly black humanoid creature with large hands and feet, dressed in ragged clothes.
"There used to be quite a few of them, but for some reason, they have become rarer lately. This one was caught not long ago."
"They originally planned to drive it into the Forbidden Forest, but I kept it. It happens to be useful for practical work."
Bang, bang, bang.
At that moment, the wardrobe shook even more violently.
Lupin glanced at it, then continued.
"Now, the first question of our first lesson: what is a Boggart?"
As always, little scholar Hermione was the first to answer.
"It can transform, appearing as whatever frightens a person."
Lupin was very satisfied with Hermione's answer and generously awarded points to the disciplinary group.
Before class, Dumbledore had specifically told him that aside from the four Houses, Hogwarts now also had the disciplinary group, which needed to be scored separately.
"How should we deal with a Boggart? The first and most important thing is to face your fear directly. Smile at fear. Do not let it overwhelm you."
"Think carefully. What do you fear most?"
"What form would a Boggart take for you?"
Lupin gave everyone a few minutes to think.
"Remember, laughter is the best way to defeat a Boggart. Willpower is the key to overcoming it."
"If anyone is ready and would like to challenge the Boggart first, please step forward."
Lupin looked around. Not a single person stepped forward voluntarily, so he turned his gaze toward one person.
"Robin Hood, you go first."
'Heh, heh, heh. Who would have such an old-fashioned name as Robin Hood?'
Ron looked around happily, wanting to see what this Robin Hood fellow looked like. Then he saw Lupin staring directly at him.
'...Damn. He does not mean me, does he?'
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